God Speaks
“No,” I said to myself, “I won’t do it. I’ll not make them unhappy with another painful visit.” 2 For if I make you sad, who is going to make me happy? You are the ones to do it, and how can you if I cause you pain? 3 That is why I wrote as I did in my last letter, so that you will get things straightened out before I come. Then, when I do come, I will not be made sad by the very ones who ought to give me greatest joy. I felt sure that your happiness was so bound up in mine that you would not be happy either unless I came with joy.
4 Oh, how I hated to write that letter! It almost broke my heart, and I tell you honestly that I cried over it. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I had to show you how very much I loved you and cared about what was happening to you.
5-6 Remember that the man I wrote about, who caused all the trouble, has not caused sorrow to me as much as to all the rest of you—though I certainly have my share in it too. I don’t want to be harder on him than I should. He has been punished enough by your united disapproval. 7 Now it is time to forgive him and comfort him. Otherwise he may become so bitter and discouraged that he won’t be able to recover. 8 Please show him now that you still do love him very much.
9 I wrote to you as I did so that I could find out how far you would go in obeying me. 10 When you forgive anyone, I do too. And whatever I have forgiven (to the extent that this affected me too) has been by Christ’s authority, and for your good. 11 A further reason for forgiveness is to keep from being outsmarted by Satan, for we know what he is trying to do.
12 Well, when I got as far as the city of Troas, the Lord gave me tremendous opportunities to preach the Gospel. 13 But Titus, my dear brother, wasn’t there to meet me and I couldn’t rest, wondering where he was and what had happened to him. So I said good-bye and went right on to Macedonia to try to find him.
14 But thanks be to God! For through what Christ has done, he has triumphed over us so that now wherever we go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Gospel like a sweet perfume. 15 As far as God is concerned there is a sweet, wholesome fragrance in our lives. It is the fragrance of Christ within us, an aroma to both the saved and the unsaved all around us. 16 To those who are not being saved, we seem a fearful smell of death and doom, while to those who know Christ we are a life-giving perfume. But who is adequate for such a task as this? 17 Only those who, like ourselves, are men of integrity, sent by God, speaking with Christ’s power, with God’s eye upon us. We are not like those hucksters—and there are many of them—whose idea in getting out the Gospel is to make a good living out of it.
Source: The Living Bible: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Paul continued with his explanation of why he hadn’t visited Corinth after his previous letter. He didn’t want to make them sad. After all, if they were unhappy, who would cheer him up? He wanted to encourage and build them up instead. He even cried over the need for his stern tone in the other letter. Now that they had shown their unified disapproval, the man from Paul’s previous letter should be forgiven and comforted so that he wouldn’t become discouraged and bitter. They should show the man that God still loved him, and they did too. His call for action and forgiveness was to verify their willingness to obey Paul. It was by Christ’s authority, for their ultimate good, and to thwart Satan’s plan to destroy God’s work among them. Paul’s delay was because he had left a thriving ministry in Troas to find Titus in Macedonia to receive his report regarding them. Praise be to God for how He continually guides and uses people to spread the life-giving perfume of the gospel. It is the glorious scent of life and eternity with God to those who are being saved, but it is the rotten stench of death and eternal judgment to those who are continually rejecting the good news of Jesus Christ. No human being can adequately fulfill such a task on their own. Only God’s Holy Spirit could enable Paul and others to minister His words with the right motivation.
Prayer: Dear Gracious God who loves us too much to let us get by with bad behavior, thank You for both disciplining us and comforting us so that we do not become bitter or discouraged. Thank you for wanting us to be happy. That’s why You gave us the Ten Commandments–to provide boundaries within which we could be happy and safe. Our keeping them makes You happy. Our breaking them makes You sad. Please encourage and build up believers, especially leaders. Help various ministries and local congregations to walk in harmony with each other. Help us be unified when You call us to apply church discipline. After repentance, please help us to forgive and comfort the wayward party telling them that You still love them, and we do too. May our response to Your call for corrective action and forgiveness verify our willingness to obey You. May it be done in Christ’s authority, for the congregation’s ultimate good, and to thwart Satan’s plan to destroy God’s work among us. May godly, wise leaders be willing to set aside even fruitful work for You to check on the spiritual health of their congregation. Praise be to You, O Lord, for how You continually guide and use ordinary people to spread the life-giving perfume of the gospel. You have said it is the glorious scent of life and eternity with You to those who are being saved, but it is the rotten stench of death and eternal judgment to those who continue to reject the good news of Jesus Christ. No human being can adequately fulfill such a task on their own. Only Your Holy Spirit (who is continually watching and listening) can enable us to minister Your words with the right motivation. That right motivation is Your glory, not our personal gain. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will thank God for the ways He has disciplined me over the years, and for His mercy and grace for when He has not.
- I will take some alone time to ask God what He needs to deal with in me at this time.
- I will ask the Lord how He wants me to encourage and build up Christian leaders, then do it.
- I will ask the Lord and trusted friends what scent I am exuding.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.